(Dec 24): Copper extended a powerful December rally that’s carried prices for the industrial metal to unprecedented highs above US$12,000 ($15,398.76) a ton on fears over a tighter global market in 2026.
Investors have piled into copper on expectations that a rush of metal to the US — aimed at front-running possible import tariffs — will put buyers in the rest of the world in a tight spot. Prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) are now on track for an annual gain of 38%, the biggest since 2009.
On Wednesday, prices rose as much as 0.8% to US$12,156.50 a ton, just US$3 short of Monday’s all-time high, before trading at US$12,109.50 by 10.37am Shanghai time.
All six base metals on the LME are headed for annual gains in a year that’s seen an array of supply-side pressures. Rallies have sustained even as industrial demand shows signs of wavering.
Aluminium is up nearly 16% in 2025 as slowing production growth in China and soaring energy costs in the rest of the world crimp supplies. Zinc has gained 5% after key mine outages, while tin is up 48% after major producer Indonesia cracked down on illegal mining.
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